Self-closing container.



E. B. BICKER.

SELF CLOSING CONTAINER.

nrmcmowmzn JAN. 18. I911.

1,274,374. Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

EDGAR B. BICKER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

SELF-CLOSING CONTAINER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6, 1918.

Application filed January 18, 1917. v Serial No. 142,995.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR B. BIOKE'R, a citizen of the United States, and resident of St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Closing Containers, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and

- exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

My invention relates to improvements in self closing containers, wherein an open seam is provided in a flexible and elastic body which is normally closed against leakage of the contents of the container, and which seam, when the body of the container is distorted, will open to permit a discharge of its contents.

My object is to construct a simple and easily operated container of inexpensive construction which by distortion will open a normally closed seam and which upon a re laxing of pressure will by the elasticity of the body, restore the container to its normal shape and close its open seam to prevent leakage of its contents.

With the above, and other objects which will be hereinafter made clear, in view my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts which will be fully, clearly and concisely set forth in my specification, pointed out in my claims and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a container especially designed for tobacco in form, foruse in connection with pipes and cigarettes.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the container.

' F ig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan of the container showing the same distorted to permit a discharge of its contents. v I

Fig. 5 is a plan of the blank, from whleh the body of the container is formed.

Fig. 6 is an inverted plan showlng the folds in the exterior wrapper or label for the container, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmental, vertical, sectional elevation of a portion of the body portion and top of the container.

The blank shown in-Fig. 5 is a single piece of sheet material and may be formed of tin, paper, celluloid or other like elastic material, and the blank illustrated, forms a container whose cross section is an oblong having parallel sides and rounded ends, this being the most convenient form of container for pocket cans of smoking tobacco. The

" body portion of the blank is substantially of rectangular oblong shape, its middle portion 8 constituting the front of the container, its end portions 9 constituting the back of the container which are folded over the front and overlapped and their ends united in various manners according to the material from which they are formed; that is, by gluing, soldering, welding or otherwise.

The dotted lines 10 in Fig. 5 show the folding lines forming the rounded ends 11, 11 connecting the front and back of the container. I Along the upper margin of the blank there are the flaps 12, 12 which are of less length than the width of the container, and as clearly shown in Fig. 4, are brought to relative registration when the body is folded and the ends of the blank united as described. These flaps are then folded at an angle of ninety degrees and form a top or lidonly partially closing the upper end of the container.

In this condition it is to be understood that the flaps are connected with the container along one margin only, their opposite margin being free from the upper margin of the body of the container along the entire front and both ends. I retain the top or lid of the can, namely the flaps 12, in their folded positions by means of a flexible adhesive tape 13, extended across the flaps and along the rounded ends of the container as clearly shown in Fig. 7

The front of the container next its upper margin is provided with a notch 14 which, as will be made clear, provides for a large pouring spout or discharge opening. As shown in Fig. 5, the central portion 8 of the blank or thefront of the container carries an integral flap 15, whose ends are rounded to conform with the round ends of the container and which when folded at an angle of ninety degrees forms a complete closure for the bottom of the container, and which bottom is held in place in a manner to be described hereinafter.

The container, of course, may be employed without a lining, but in order to preserve smoking tobacco, both as to aroma and moisture, I prefer to employ a lining 16 preferably formed from material such as parafiin paper and which is formed to substantially the shape of the container, and slipped endwise thereinto, its upper end being open and its lower end closed.

In order to hold the bottom 15in proper position, I employ an outside wrapper or label 17 which is applied by adhesive after the container has been filled to conform with the container in its entirety except, of course, a seam 18 in said wrapper coinciding with the seam formed by "the upper margin of the front of the container, and the front margins of the flaps 12 constituting the top of the container.

This wrapper, as well as the lining 16, ex-

tends across the notch 14 and being of greater flexibility than the material of the container may be distorted to a greater extent than the body of the container and thereby provide a relatively large pouring spout. In order to provide for a maximum of elasticity at the discharge end of the container, I'provide an elastic band 19 of metal or whale bone and by preference secure the band next the body of the container by folding a part of the wrapper or label 17 over the band act distorts the front of the can and opens the seam between the top margin of the front of the/can and the lid, and that upon a relaxing of the pressure exerted by the thumb and fingerthe inherent elastic qualities of the container or the elastic band, will restore the container body to its original position and shape, closing said seam.

It will be, further apparent that, due to the flaps 12 being integrally connected with the margins of the back portions of the container and turned at a right angle thereto,

the said back of the container, next its top will have little or no flexure, and that when pressure is applied to discharge contents from the container the back and lid will be relatively immovable andthat said pressure will flex only the upper end of the front of the gonminer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A container comprising a body portion having integrally formed folding flaps ar-' ranged to form the ends of the container, means for holding the bottom end flap to completely close the bottom of the container, means for holding the top end flaps to partially close the top of the container, the said topend flaps being detached along one side of thecontainer to form an open seam between said side of the container and said flaps, and an elastic element secured to the 1 container body adjacentthe top end thereof 2. A container comprising a body portion, said body portionprovided with a bottom end flap adapted to completely close the lower end of the container and two top end flaps adapted to partially close the top end of the container, means attached to'the body portion and the two "flaps for holding the same in the desired position, a side of said body 2 portion being detached from the top end.

flaps thus afl'ording means to empty the container without slitting the same, a lining for said container, an elastic band secured to the container adjacent its top end, and a wrapper for said container a portion of the top edge of the same being detached from the top of the container.

, 3; A container comprising a body portion formed from a single piece of material and provided with a single bottom end flap adapted to completely close the lower end of the container, and with two top end flaps adapted to partially close the upper end of the container, means for securing the upper end flaps in the proper position and leaving oneside of "the container detached from the top end flaps, there being a notch formed in the side of the container adjacent the free ends of the top end flaps, and a lining for said container projecting over the recess formed in the side of the container, thus providing a pouring spout for the contents.

of the container.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, EDGAR B. BICKER. Witnesses R. G. Onwro, 

